Such fancy company demanded an elegant meal. :) Our challenge this week was to make a complete meal without any dairy. I think we did a great job from start to finish!
Weight Watchers Points Plus Cookbook
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp table salt
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
2 15.5 ounce cans chickpeas, drained, rinsed and patted dry
Divide chickpeas between two large rimmed pans (aka cookie sheets). Bake, shaking pans occasionally and rotating pans from top to bottom after about 20 minutes, until chickpeas are browned and crisp, about 35-40 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature. Serves 6, with a PointsPlus value of 1 each.
April: First of all, they cooked much faster than the recipe said - I turned down the oven to 375 and only cooked them for 20 minutes. Turns out if you let the chickpeas burn, they pop up in the oven like popcorn (if you open the oven door, they literally pop at you!). Personally, I liked them cooked a little less - they absorbed more of the flavor and tasted less burnt.
Suz: I liked em, but they could have used a little more spice. They had the consistancy of corn nuts almost, but a much better taste.
Lemony Chicken Saltimboca
from Cooking Light January/February 2011
1/8 tsp table salt
12 fresh sage leaves 2 oz Proscuitto di Parma, cut into 8 thin strips
4 tsp olive oil, divided
1/3 cup fat-free, reduced-sodium chicken broth 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp cornstarch
1 medium lemon, cut into wedges (for garnish)
Sprinkle the chicken evenly with the salt. Place 3 sage leaves on each cutlet; wrap 2 slices prosciutto around each cutlet, securing sage leaves in place.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil to pan and swirl to coat. Add chicken to pan; cook for 2 minutes on each side or until cooked through. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm.
Combine broth, lemon juice and cornstarch in a small bowl; stir with a whisk until smooth. add cornstarch mixture and the remaining 1 teaspoon of oil to pan; bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Cook for 2 minute or until slightly thickened, stirring constantly with a whisk. Spoon sauce over chicken. Serve with lemon wedges, if desired.
Serves 4 with a PointsPlus value of 5. With angel hair pasta, PP add 5 additional points.
Suz: Oh my goodness, this came out so good! I doubled the amount of sauce since we were serving the chicken with the angel hair - it didn't change the PP value though. The chicken was tender and juicy and the prosciutto gave it a yummy saltiness. Wish I had made more!
Roasted Asparagus
Suzanne’s recipe
1 pound asparagus, trimmed
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1/2 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 tsp olive oil
Toss ingredients together, bake at 400 for 12-15 minutes or until cooked through. Stir once or twice during roasting. Serves 4 with a PointsPlus value of 1.April: Tasted good, still tasted like asparagus (which I don't normally like) but it had a good balance of flavor so it wasn't like it tasted fake, you know what I mean?
Suz: I love asparagus. It was a nice accompaniment to the chicken and pasta!
Berry Trifle
adapted from Tyler’s Ultimate
2 cups unsweetened frozen strawberries, thawed and sliced
4 cups unsweetened frozen raspberries, frozen, thawed
1 medium lemon, juiced
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp cornstarch
One container Cool Whip Whipped Topping Free Whipped Topping, thawed
One jar (11 oz) lemon curd
One store-bought angel food cake, cut into 1/2" slices
Place the berries into a large bowl and sprinkle with half of the lemon juice. Lightly toss.
Combine the berries, sugar, cornstarch and remaining lemon juice in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer and cook just until the berries begin to break down and give up their juices, about 3 minutes. Take the berries off the heat and let cool; the mixture should thicken up as is cools.
Put the lemon curd into a bowl and stir in a little of the cool whip to loosen it. Then fold in the rest of the cool whip.
To assemble the trifle, spoon a layer of the lemon cream into a large glass bowl. Add a layer of angel food cake, breaking the slices into pieces that fit. Then soak the cake with a layer of berries and their juices. Keep going to make 3 or 4 more layers, depending on the size of the bowl, finishing with a layer of lemon cream. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Serves 10, with a PointsPlus Value of 8 each.
April: It was really good, I wish the layers had worked out differently. Easy to make. Next time, will add another container of cool whip. We used a lemon pie filling instead of curd that didn't have any dairy in it.
Suz: Yum again. I'm starting to appreciate lemon a lot more. I really liked how light and satisfying it was!
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| April and Jesse bonding over a glass of pinot grigio! |
Next week we're back at April's house with a family-friendly meal and hopefully another guest. Thanks again to Rena and Alice for being our Victims tonight - it's great to have another opinion and get to spend time with good friends!
This was an amazing evening! My first time out with girlfriends since before the holidays. The girlfriend time was the best food for my soul but this meal was as delicious as it sounds. I loved the sage and prociutto wrapped chicken..great flavor and the asparagus was so tender. The berry trifle was light, fruity and a great way to clean the pallet! "Bravo" Thank you again, I love you ladies!
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